prahl



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1v 0. PRAHL. REPEATING WATCH.

Patented Apr. 5,1898.

llVl/E/VTOH I f l, H

WITNESSES:

(H Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. PRAHL.

REPEATING WATCH.

No. 602,036. Patented Apr. 5, 1898.

l/Vl/ENTOH ATTOR/VEKY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES PRAHL, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF TI-IREE-FOURTHS TO LEVY, DREYFUS & 00., OF SAME PLACE.

REPEATING WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 602,036, dated April 5, 1898.

Application filed October 24, 1896. Serial No. 609,890. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: the teeth of a second star-wheel O, which Be it known that I, CHARLES PRAHL, acitiis arranged back of the star-wheel O. The

zen of the United States, residing in the city, star-wheel O carries a step-shaped cam or county, and State of New York, have insnail D,while the star-wheel O carries astep- 5 5 vented certain new and useful Improvements shaped cam or snail D, said star-wheels bein Repeating Watches, of which the following applied to an arbor d, that is attached to ing is a specification. the bottom plate of the watch-movement A.

This invention relates to certain improve- A split spring 0 acts on the teeth of both ments in repeating watches in which the genstar-wheels O 0, so as to retain said wheels 1o eral features of construction described and without preventing the rotation of the same claimed in Letters Patent No. 560,926, dated when engaged by the teeth of the crown- May 26, 1896, for repeating clocks, are utilized wheel B. and applied to watches, so that the repeating To the bottom plate of the watch-movemechanism is greatly simplified and so arment A are pivoted the shanks e e of two 15 ranged that it can be easily applied to the toothed segments E E, which shanks are prowatchmovement without rendering the same vided with semicircular bends, as shown in unnecessarily complicated. Figs. 1 and 2, so as to clear the minute-arbor.

The invention consists of certain features The shank e of the toothed segment E rests of construction and combinations of parts, to normally on a pin e which passes through 20 be hereinafter described and then particuan arc-shaped slot a in the bottom plate A, larly claimed. said pin e being applied to a pivot-link 6 In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 that is arranged adjacent to the opposite face represents a front elevation of my improved of the bottom plate A. The pivot-link c is repeating watch. Fig. 2 is a front elevation connected by a second pivotlink c with the 7 25 of the watch-movement with the dial-plate longer arm of a spring-actuated elbow-lever removed, so as to show the parts of the re- F, that is fulcrumed to the supporting-plates peating attachment arranged back of the of the watch-movement near the circumfersame. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. ence of the same and acted upon by a flat 4, showing that portion of the repeating atspring e, which engages the shorter arm of o tachment located behind the plate A of the the elbow-lever F, as shown in Fig. 3. The movement, said plate being removed. Fig. 4 shorter arm or heel of the elbow-lever F is is a vertical transverse section on line i 4, acted upon by a pusher F, which is applied Fig. 2, drawn on alarger scale, so as to show to a fiat spring f", attached to and located in the different parts of the repeating mechanthe watch-casing, as shown in Fig. 3. The

3 5 ism of the watch; and Fig. 5 is a rear elevaspring e serves for returning the motor mechtion of the watch-movement, showing the anism of the repeating mechanism after it striking mechanism of the same. has been actuated by the pusher. The oppo- Similar letters of reference indicate corresite end of the pivot-link c is pivoted to the spending parts. shank of a toothed motor-segment F that is 40 Referring to the drawings, A represents a retained in position by an arc-shaped keeper watch-movement of any approved construcf as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The toothed tion. To the minute-arbor a of the same is motor-segment F engages a pinion f that is applied a crown-wheel B, which is formed of attached to a ratchet-wheelf, which is placed a disk provided with twelve teeth arranged loosely on the sleeve or arbor of a gear-wheel 9 5 5 equidistantly from each other, eleven teeth f said ratchet-wheel f being engaged by a being shorter than the twelfth tooth B, which check-pawlf on the gear-wheelf. The pawl is made double the length of the shorter teeth. f passes over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel The crown-wheel B rotates with the minute f when the pinion f" is turned by the oscilarbor, all the teeth of the same engaging the lating motion of the toothed segment F; but 1C0 50 teeth of a star-wheel 0, arranged adjacent it engages the teeth of the ratchet-wheel, so thereto, while the longer tooth alone engages as to carry the gear-wheel f along, when the segment F is oscillated in opposite direction under the action of the spring 6 of the motor mechanism. The gear-wheel f engages a pinion f on the gear-wheel f which again meshes with the pinion of a third gear-wheel f which latter engages a lantern-wheel f 011 a spur-wheel f This spur-Wheel engages the worm f the shaft of which is supported in suitable bearings of the top plate of the movement and provided with wings f which form with the worm a fly, said fly, with the transmitting mechanism and the toothed segment, forming the so-called moderatinggear, by which the return motion of the motor mechanism and of the hour and minute segments operated by the same is retarded. The moderating-gear is not operated when the motormechanism is depressed, as the pinion f and its ratchet-wheel f are then turned on the shaft of the gear-wheel f without influencing the remaining gear-wheels of the moderating-gear. By the return motion of the toothed segment F the moderating-gear is operated, as the ratchet-wheel f on the pinion f is then engaged by the pawl f on the gear-wheel f so that the transmitting gearwheels are operated and the return motion of the motor mechanism slackened by the retarding action imparted by the moderatinggear described.

On the toothed hour-segment E is located a stop-pin 0", which serves for returning the toothed minute-segment E whenever during the return motion of the hour-segment E the pin 1' engages the shank e of the minute-segment E. As the shank of the hour-segment E rests upon the actuating-pin 6 the toothed segments E and E are moved on their pivots, as soon as the motor mechanism is actuated, by the action of two fiat springs a which engage pins atthe inner ends of the shanks e e as shown 1n Figs. 2 and 4. The segments E E are returned by the action of the strong spring 0 into their normal position as soon as the actuation in one direction under the influence of the motor mechanism is interrupted. The segments E E are returned together under the influence of the motor mechanism, the segment E under the direct influence of the pin of the motor mechanism and the other segment by the pin 0* on the segment E. The shanks e e of the segments E E are provided with arms h h, which are respectively arrested by one of the steps of the eccentric cams or snails D D. \Vhen the segments E E are moved in forward direction by the motor mechanism, the teeth on the circumference of the same pass by spring-actuated trip-pawls I I, of bell-crank shape, which are loosely placed on separate arbors i 2",Which pass through openings in the bottom and top plates of the movement to the under side of the same, said arbors carrying at their opposite ends spring-actuated hour and minute hammers 2' 7?, that strike, respectively, the hour and minute gongs M M, which are attached to a suitable bracket on the top plate of the watch-movement, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. The striking-hammers 2' i are arranged sidewise of each other and are arrested by a stop-pin on when in their normal position of rest. \Vhen the segments E E move in forward direction, they move over the inwardly-projecting arms of the trippawls without actuating the striking-hammers, but during their return motion the teeth of the segments E E' engage successively the inwardly-projecting arms of the trip-pawls and cause the other arms to engage fixed keepers i on the arbors z 2', so as to oscillate the hammers against the action of their springs and cause them to strike the hours and minutes 011 the gongs. The keepers 71* are shown in Fig. 2 and are arranged at the ends of the short transverse arbors i 2", so that no motion is imparted to the trip-pawls I I when the segments E E are moved in forward direction by the motor mechanism, while during the return motion of the segments E E the teeth of the latter engage the trip-pawls, so that they take the keepers on the arbors i 2" along and actuate thereby the strikinghammers, so that the latter are lifted and dropped again as soon as each tooth of the segment E or E has passed the point of the trip-pawl I or I.

In both the description and the claim I desire it understood that the term striking mechanism refers simply to the parts I I it" 2' 2' M M or equivalent mechanism, inasmuch as said parts form the striking mechanism.

The operation of my improved repeating watch is as follows: Whenever the time of the day is to be ascertained, the motor mechanism is actuated by depressing the pusher projecting from the casing of the watch, so that the hour and minute segments are moved forward under the influence of their springs 6 until arrested by the steps of their respective snails. When the pusher F is then released and returned by its spring into normal position, the toothed segments are also returned by the action of their motor-spring into normal position and actuate during the return motion successively the trip-pawls, which actuate the striking hammers and cause the striking of the hour and minute gongs in a manner analogous to the operation of the repeating clock described in my prior patent referred to. The repeating attachment is so arranged that each stroke of the minute-bell indicates five minutes, which has the advantage that the snails D D and the toothed segments E E can be made of equal size and shape, whereby the manufacture of the repeating attachment is considerably simplified and cheapened. During the return motion of the toothed segments the hour-bell strikes first, and after the hour-strokes are sounded the minute bell is sounded and thereby the minute-strokes indicated, which strokes, however, have to be multiplied by five, so as to ascertain the correct number of minutes.

The repeating attachment can be applied to the Watch-movements after the parts of the same are assembled, the hand-setting mechanism forming connection with the crownwheel on the minute-arbor, so as to permit the motion of the hands, crown-Wheel, and snails independently of the movement.

The parts of the repeating mechanism can all be made cheaply by machinery in the same manner as the gear-wheels and other parts of the movement, so that thereby my improved repeating watch can be placed upon the market at a much less price than the repeating watches heretofore in use.

The main features of my improved repeating Watch are covered by the claims of my prior patent referred to, the new features consisting, mainly, in the construction of the motor mechanism of the moderating-gear and other minor details.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- In a repeating watch, the combination of a pusher projecting outside of the watch, a spring-actuated elbow-lever actuated by said pusher, an oscillating motor-segment pivoted to the movement-plate, a pivot-link connecting the elbow-lever with the toothed segment, a pawl and ratchet-wheel, a pinion arranged between the pawl and ratchet-wheel and said motor-segment, said pinion being engaged by said motor-segment, a train of transmitting gear-Wheels operated by the pawl and ratchetwheel, a spur-wheel actuated by the last gearwheel of the train of transmitting gear-wheels, a worm engaged by the teeth of said spurwheel, and a iiy on the worm-shaft, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES PRAHL.

Witnesses:

PAUL GoEPnL, GEORGE W. JAEKEL. 

